Everyday miracles

Whew! What a week! Work was busy, and on top of it, my back decided to give me a hard time. Have you ever had one of those stiff necks that just won't go away no matter how many ways you've tried to fix it? Well, that's been me -- the person ahead of you in the hallway who has to move their ENTIRE body when they want to look at you behind them. Yep, one of those weeks ...

Anyways, I want to share something a bit different with you today. It's not exclusive, it's not even related to design, but it is related to life. Here goes ...

Last weekend, we were lucky to visit my sister and her husband at their 150-year old home just north of Kingston in Eastern Ontario. We'd been planning this visit for weeks, but for one reason or another -- hockey practices, colds, flus, you name it -- we just had to keep putting it off. Finally, we got around to it, and we had a fabulous day -- celebrating birthdays, singing and playing guitar, walking along soggy, but beautiful roads, and admiring all the work and love which my sister and her husband are putting into fixing up their home.

The highlight of the day, though, was definitely our marshmallow roast in the backyard. You see, their house is no ordinary house -- it was built in 1862 for the manager of a mill, and for this mill to work, well you had to have water -- lots of it, running fast ....

So, as you can imagine, their backyard is pretty amazing, and their house is, too. Everywhere you go, you hear the sound of running water, and everywhere you look, you see running water, or something else beautiful and wild. No cars, no traffic, no fabric swatches and paint samples to better, or perhaps, confuse the situation -- just nature designing itself in its own miraculous way. And, what a miracle it is indeed ...

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone, and if you're celebrating Easter, Happy Easter to you, too. We're spending Easter with my parents, and I'm cooking up a storm getting ready for their visit. Tomorrow, I'm slated to make a lemon cheesecake, and if it turns out, I'll share the recipe with you next week. Hugs from Ottawa.

View from my sister's house and backyard. In summer, you can swim in the pond near the base of the rapids. And, they have a huge vegetable and herb garden beside the house. I'm truly jealous about this!

Marshmallowing. The kids had a blast in front of the campfire. That's my sister's house being renovated in the background. The dilapidated brown building to the right is the old mill. I've heard someone just bought it, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they fix it up.

Apparently, roasted marshmallows are one thing, but even better are roasted marshmallow sandwiches with chocolate chips!! Mmm ... mmm ... good.